Emirates has announced it will be completely refurbishing another 43 A380s and 28 Boeing 777s, expanding its retrofit program to 191 aircraft. This original plan was to retrofit 120 aircraft.
The Dubai-based airline has retrofitted 22 A380 aircraft so far. The first Boeing 777 will undergo an interior refresh in July 2024.
Emirates said that each Boeing 777 aircraft will take approximately two weeks to refurbish before entering service. Plans include the refurbishment of the First Class cabin, brand new Business Class seats making a debut on the aircraft in an updated 1-2-1 seating configuration, in addition to 24 of the latest Premium Economy seats.
Along with the addition of the Premium Economy cabin, the Emirates Boeing 777 will be configured with 332 seats in four classes, featuring eight First Class suites, 40 Business Class seats, and 260 Economy Class seats.
According to Emirates, 50 Economy seats will be removed in order to make room for the new Premium Economy cabin.
Retrofit work for the Emirates fleet is being managed and executed in-house at the airline’s Engineering Center, with more than 250 project personnel currently working on the project, supported by 31 major partners and suppliers who have set up workshops both in the facility and offsite.
“We’re topping up our multi-billion dollar investment in the retrofit programme to introduce cutting-edge cabin products on more of our A380s and Boeing 777s, demonstrating a clear commitment to elevating the customer experience with a best-in-class suite of products across every cabin,” Emirates President Sir Tim Clark said in a statement.
“The addition of more aircraft fitted with our newest generation seats, updated cabin finishings and a contemporary color palette also marks a significant step in ensuring more customers can consistently experience our premium products across both aircraft types,” Clark added.
Once the last aircraft rolls out of the retrofit program, the airline will have installed 8,104 next-generation Premium Economy seats, 1,894 refreshed First Class suites, 11,182 upgraded Business Class seats and 21,814 Economy Class seats.